Japanese experts have identified some barriers for the unskilled labour forces to work in the East Asian country and suggested some changes in their own country’s recruitment policy.

There are discriminatory rules for skilled and unskilled workers in the new policy, said Yoshinari Katsuo, founder president and adviser of the Asian People’s Friendship Society or APFS.

“Unskilled workers cannot stay more than three to five years while skilled workers can work for long time. We want unskilled workers be allowed to work for long time also,” he told monglanews24.com.

Worker without diploma in Japanese language is also one of the barriers for the unskilled workers to go to Japan.

Prof Mizukami Tetsuo, dean of the College of Sociology, Rikkyo University, supported his comments.

The APFS is a human rights organisation in Japan.

As part of the requirements for the postgraduate course of the College of Sociology, one of the oldest universities of Japan has been carrying out the project with support from the APFS since 2014.

Last year at a press briefing in Dhaka they said they would recommend the Japanese government to take workers from Bangladesh ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.

They also organised a programme in Dhaka on Monday where the details of their activities were discussed.

Japan recently listed Bangladesh to hire workers from.

Masud Karim, who is the Bangladesh coordinator of the project, said their recommendations also helped Japan government take the decision.

He said Bangladeshis, who worked in Japan in the late 80s, had a good reputation.

“Those who were in government 30 years back are all retired. New officials do not know much about Bangladesh. That’s why the APFS experts and Rikkho University professors are now suggesting changes in policies,” he told monglanews24.com.

“They are highlighting non-technical people since after a certain time they cannot stay in Japan. They think language should not be a barrier for unskilled workers. If you make it mandatory that they must have diploma in Japanese language, then it will be difficult for unskilled workers,” he said.

“They think they can learn the language while working in Japan.”

Karim said Japan needs huge manpower till 2025 to meet their demands.

For example, he said, they have shortage of 779,000 caregivers and they have planned to recruit 60,000 in 2019 alone.

For construction, Japan will need 210,000 workers untill 2025. In 2019, it will recruit 40,000 with preferable age of 30 years. As many as 37,500 workers will be recruited for cleaning buildings in 2019.